Thirty-three. I’d like to think I am like most people and that I never really get excited about my age… well maybe the age of 5 was pretty thrilling because I was able to show my “whole hand” when asked how old I was. At the age of 13, I became a teenager. The age of 18, I became an adult. The age of 21, I was able to legally drink. The age of 25, I was able to rent a car… but nothing exciting happened after that. I remember when my college girlfriends and I joked on our 22nd birthdays that we were “Over the Hill and Fabulous”. I also remember feeling practically 30 every year after the age of 25 and not really mad about it either. I had a lot of responsibilities in my late 20’s and felt personally and professionally proud of myself and my accomplishments at what was still seen as a “young age”.
Secretly, I have always been looking forward to turning 33. Why 33, you ask? Well… when I was a teenager I worked at a retail store and we decorated the back office for my manager at the time who was celebrating her 33rd birthday. I remember thinking that 33 was such a secure, cool, and exciting age and I even told her that. She laughed at me and said “why would you ever want to be 33? Enjoy being a teenager and before you know it you will miss your 20’s.” She rolled her eyes and walked away but I was serious. I have been looking forward to being 33 for quite some time. In my adolescent brain, 33 was an age of certainty. Maybe I would have life figured out by then and I knew deep down that 33 would be a special time in my life.
Fast forward and here we are… October 19th, 2020 and it is my 33rd birthday. I can’t say I have everything figured out but hey, 33… I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT! Life is good (despite being in the midst of a pandemic)!! I am married to an amazing man, stepmom to 3 fantastic kids, and blessed with the most amazing family and friends. Gratitude is what your 30’s truly bring to your life. Sure I was grateful in my 20’s but for me, gratitude has taken on new meaning as I get older. I am grateful for my health, my excitement for life, for my friends that feel like family, family that feels like friends, the ability to climb mountains, be flexible and adapt to life’s challenges, and learn… I still have so much learning to do! Now that I am 33 I don’t think of it as a secure, cool, and exciting age… I think of being at the beginning of a new and sweet chapter of my life. I was right; this will be a special year and I have no idea what that looks like but I am ready for it.
For my birthday I would like to say that your “prime” is your present day, there will never be another day that is as special as the one you are in right now. Embrace the season, the ups and downs, the aches and pains, the excitement and the boredom, just know that you are special, your birthday is a celebration and you are your own hype squad. Get excited about your life because this is it.
33, 44, 55, 66… apparently I like double-number ages and that is why 33 sounded like such a great age back then. I am now pumped for birthday number 44!
Cheers to thirty-three years and a special year ahead! Let’s begin.
The Salty Exchange 